My Dwelling Place, part 2, teaches that the first habit every Christian must build is a daily relationship with God in the secret place. Pastor Paul explains that salvation is not a one-time ticket to heaven but the start of new habits, and that the people who know their God are strong, battle ready and able to stand when the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. It continues My Dwelling Place, Part 1: The Secret Place Habit That Comes First (Pastor Paul Hohman).
Below you will find the full video, a structured summary of the sermon, the Scripture behind each point (linked to the New King James Version on Bible Gateway), a table of the habits he contrasts, a timestamped outline, and practical steps you can take this week.
Sermon at a Glance
This message was posted at NTC Ministries on August 27, 2024, as the second part of the My Dwelling Place series. It runs about 52 minutes and closes with communion. Pastor Paul says God has been speaking to him about habits: everyone has them, whether they think so or not, and building good, strong habits is vital for a Christian.
He makes the point early that his title does not exempt him. Being a pastor is a gift from God, he says, but he is also a Christian who has to build the same habits to use his gifts. Every member of the body of Christ has gifts the others need.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Speaker | Pastor Paul |
| Series | My Dwelling Place (part 2) |
| Main text | Psalm 91:1–2; Colossians 3:1–11 |
| Key theme | The first habit to build is dwelling with God in the secret place |
| Length | About 52 minutes, ending with communion |
Habits After the Prayer
Pastor Paul begins with a correction. Salvation is not “I prayed a prayer and there’s my ticket to heaven.” It is a lifestyle change: old things have passed away and all things have become new. Someone on one path gives their life to Christ and now needs to build better habits, reading the Word and praying, not only crying out “God, I need” but thanking God for who He is.
When we get to know who God is, he says, we become ready for whatever battle comes. God has a purpose and plan for every life. In Jeremiah 29:11 He speaks of thoughts of peace and not of evil. Some dismiss that as prosperity preaching, but Pastor Paul refuses to serve a poverty God. God is either for you or not, and the Bible says He is for us (Romans 8:31).
Why do bad things happen to good people? Because we live in a fallen world, and the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). John 10:10 names the thief who comes to steal, kill and destroy. God does not tease us or take life early; He says, “With long life I will satisfy him” (Psalm 91:16).
He uses the body and the army to explain discipline. The hand cannot tell the foot it has no need of it (1 Corinthians 12:21), so each believer must build habits to use their gifts. Soldiers make their beds and march a certain way to break old patterns and become battle ready. If the thief is coming, he asks, should a son of the living God be any less ready?
My Dwelling Place: The Secret Place of the Most High
The heart of the message is what God told him: “the first habit you have to build is your relationship with Me.” Psalm 91:1 says, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” The first thing we do, he says, is dwell. A dwelling place is like a home.
He takes the church back to childhood summers. You played outside, but when the sun went down you went home without having to ask where home was. That was a habit built into you. He remembers a friend from the trailer park who left mid-fishing trip the moment his dad called. Parents build those habits for our benefit, and so does God.
Knowing God by His names is what that dwelling produces. When he knows God as Jehovah Jireh, he knows God provides; as Jehovah Rapha, his healer. He has memorized Isaiah 53:5, that by His stripes we are healed, so that when the thief comes he can answer with the Word. In his path is life, and life more abundantly.
Most of the promises in the Psalms, he says, from protection and power to health and blessing, depend on dwelling in the secret place. God is love, and if we are not feeling that love, it is because we are not dwelling where love, grace, mercy, strength, joy, peace and wisdom abound. God made everything good, but when He made man He saw it was very good (Genesis 1:31), and He still wants to give us His best.
In the Amplified wording of Psalm 91, the one who dwells in the secret place “shall remain stable and fixed.” Pastor Paul lingers on the phrase “on Him I lean and rely.” Even with roots grounded in the Word, there are days you are worn out and need to lean on God. He is faithful and compassionate, and as David asked, “What is man that You are mindful of him?” (Psalm 8:4). God’s mind is filled with you, he says, so shouldn’t we dwell with Him?
From Head Knowledge to Heart Knowledge
Receiving Jesus is only the first step. Romans 10:9 says to confess with your mouth and believe in your heart. Pastor Paul went through parochial school until eighth grade, and he hears people recite what they learned. But do they dwell in the secret place? He needs the Word alive on the inside, not just in his head, because knowledge puffs up (1 Corinthians 8:1).
He shares the testimony of Dr. Hohman, who grew up in parochial schools and was saved as a young boy yet told God he did not want to know only the God who wrote a book. He wanted to know the God who created the sun, moon and stars and breathed life into man. Pastor Paul echoes that hunger: he wants to know the God who heals, delivers and sets captives free, for whom the Son sets free is free indeed (John 8:36).
That means walking the walk, not just talking the talk. As a young man he slept in until the last minute. Now his habit is to rise early and greet the Father, the Holy Spirit and King Jesus, then read, sometimes a few verses over and over because God is speaking through them, sometimes several chapters. That is his dwelling place, where he gets to know God and can say that by his God he can run against a troop and leap over a wall (Psalm 18:29).
The table below follows his contrast between living by old habits and living from the secret place.
| Area | Old habit he describes | New habit from the secret place |
|---|---|---|
| Prayer | “God, I need” complaining | Thanking God for who He is |
| Mornings | Sleeping in until the last minute | Rising early to read and talk with God |
| Knowledge | Head knowledge from school | Heart knowledge that is alive inside |
| Trouble | Waiting for devastation, then crying out | Battle ready because you know your God |
| Devotion | Lackadaisical when busy or not feeling like it | Committed like a child who keeps his seat |
| Memory | Replaying past failures | Letting the past go as a new creation |
Set Your Mind on Things Above
Colossians 3:1–11 tells believers raised with Christ to set their hearts and minds on things above. Some ask how that is possible when we wake up, work and sleep on the earth. Pastor Paul answers that this is exactly why he builds habits. He spends time with God every morning, then again on the way to work and throughout the day, because the thief does not take a day off.
The more he reads, the more he knows God and can say, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). Greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). When you know your God, a trial is not a gut punch. Devastation still happens, but in the middle of it Jesus is your Prince of Peace and your strength to endure.
Verse 4 says, “When Christ who is our life appears.” Pastor Paul has the church repeat it. When something is your life, he says, you obsess over it, whether a dog, a spouse or a hobby. Paul then lists what belongs to the earthly nature and says that is how you used to walk, but now things are different. That but now is the turning point when we confess and believe: we put off the old self with its practices, or habits, and put on the new.
He adds Daniel 11:32: “the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.” That promise is not for some other denomination or another continent, he says. Turn to your neighbor: it is for you, and for me too.
Deny Yourself and Stay Devoted
In Matthew 16:24–27, Jesus says, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” Any man means anyone; God is no respecter of persons. Denying yourself means setting aside old ways, passions and desires, even things that seem fine, when they pull you away from God.
Taking up the cross is not literally carrying a cross across the country, he says. It is facing the everyday pressures that come against what God has given us, as Jesus did in Gethsemane under great pressure. It means casting down thoughts contrary to the Word (2 Corinthians 10:5). “I’m real just like you guys,” he says; many thoughts that come are not of God.
That takes, in his repeated phrase, “hard work, strong discipline and dedicated commitment.” People say they struggle and make mistakes; “welcome to the club,” he answers. You miss every shot you do not take. God is not asking for perfection; He gives a pathway for success, and it starts with dwelling with Him. Hebrews 11:6 says He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, and the narrow way leads to life (Matthew 7:13–14).
Devotion is like marriage, he says: two people learning to live and communicate, sometimes with feelings of anger, but committed by faith. Devotion is concentration on a particular pursuit, and a devoted person recognizes the tendency to become lackadaisical and works to avoid it. Busy mornings, coffee, a skipped prayer or a Sunday off can slowly erode devotion.
His son Elijah is his illustration. Growing up as the pastor’s son, Pastor Paul always sat in the front; his dad would simply say, “Paul, sit down.” When Pastor Paul moved his own seat, Elijah stayed in his usual front spot. Train up a child in the way he should go (Proverbs 22:6). Many young people stop attending church at college because training and habits were lacking, he says. Do not be conformed to this world (Romans 12:2).
Know Your God Like David
Pastor Paul warns that Satan wants us to trust our feelings. In this world we have tribulation, the Greek thlipsis, a great pressure, but Jesus has overcome the world (John 16:33). The enemy also replays old failures. Isaiah 43:18 says, “Do not remember the former things.” Do not let your past dictate your future.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1). He does not scream at us in frustration; He has the patience of eternity. Isaiah 65:17 promises new heavens and a new earth where the former things are not remembered. Being dedicated to Christ allows God to manifest, and in His presence is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11).
David is the model. From boyhood he worshiped God on his harp while watching sheep, and because he knew his God, he took on a lion and a bear. Later, bringing food to his brothers, he found Israel’s army cowering before Goliath, who stood over nine feet tall. David said, “How dare you defy the armies of the living God” (1 Samuel 17:26). We face giants too, he says, and we answer them the same way.
Yet David still made mistakes and still cried out. Psalm 86:11 prays, “Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name.” Even when Saul turned on him, David kept pursuing God. Pastor Paul quotes Dr. Hohman: “I ain’t all that in a bag of chips.” In Psalm 25:4–7, David asks God to show him His ways and not remember the sins of his youth.
God is devoted to you, Pastor Paul concludes, and no weapon formed against you shall prosper (Isaiah 54:17). He leads communion from 1 Corinthians 11:23–25, saying that when Satan reminds you of your past, you remind him of his future.
Living It Out This Week
Pastor Paul tells the church that even one word of encouragement is a step of faith. Here are practical steps drawn from this message:
- Make the secret place your first habit. Start each morning greeting God and reading, even if it is only a few verses.
- Return through the day. Talk with God again on the way to work and during the day to keep your mind on things above.
- Memorize your answers. Learn verses like Isaiah 53:5 so you can answer the thief with the Word.
- Cast down wrong thoughts. Deny the thoughts and desires that pull you away from God instead of following your feelings.
- Train the next generation. Build church and prayer habits in your children so they keep them when they are older.
- Let the past go. When old failures replay, remember you are a new creation and remind the enemy of his future.
Timestamped Outline
- 0:00 God has been speaking about habits
- 0:48 Jeremiah 29:11: plans of good
- 1:38 Why bad things happen; the thief
- 3:35 The body of Christ and our gifts
- 4:35 Military discipline and being battle ready
- 5:38 The first habit: Psalm 91:1
- 6:33 Coming home when the sun went down
- 8:22 Knowing God as Provider and Healer
- 9:28 Dwelling where love abounds
- 11:44 Head knowledge and heart knowledge
- 13:40 Changing the habit of sleeping in
- 14:41 Colossians 3: set your mind on things above
- 17:37 Battle ready, not gut punched
- 18:53 When Christ who is your life appears
- 21:13 Daniel 11:32 and Psalm 91 in the Amplified
- 23:26 Matthew 16: deny yourself
- 25:35 Take up your cross
- 27:36 Hard work, strong discipline, dedicated commitment
- 30:06 Devotion is like marriage
- 32:06 Elijah keeps his seat
- 35:30 Thlipsis, and letting the past go
- 38:39 David, the lion, the bear and Goliath
- 42:39 Psalm 86 and Psalm 25: teach me Your ways
- 45:52 Communion: remember what Jesus has done
My Dwelling Place Series
This message is part of the My Dwelling Place series at NTC Ministries. Go back to part one or continue to the next message:
- Previous: My Dwelling Place, Part 1: The Secret Place Habit That Comes First (Pastor Paul Hohman)
- You are here: My Dwelling Place #2: The First Habit of the Secret Place
- Next: My Dwelling Place #3: Changes Me — How Dwelling With God Transforms You
Frequently Asked Questions
Is preaching about God’s blessing just prosperity preaching?
Pastor Paul answers that he will not serve a poverty God. Jeremiah 29:11 says God’s plans for us are good, Romans 8:31 says God is for us, and the thief is the one who steals, kills and destroys. Bad things happen because we live in a fallen world, not because God is teasing or punishing His children. Expecting good from God is simply believing what He said.
What if I keep failing at building spiritual habits?
He says to welcome yourself to the club, because everyone struggles and makes mistakes. You miss every shot you do not take. God is not asking for perfection; He gives a pathway to success that starts with dwelling with Him. Even David, a man after God’s own heart, still cried out for God to teach him His ways after his greatest victories.
Why does the sermon end with communion?
Communion is how the church remembers what Jesus has done, and Pastor Paul ties it to the message about the past. Satan tries to remind believers of their failures, but communion turns attention to the body broken and the blood of the New Covenant. He notes that Jesus said to do this often, which is why the church takes communion every other week and encourages it at home.
Scripture References
All passages open in the New King James Version on Bible Gateway:
- Psalm 91:1–2 — the secret place of the Most High
- John 10:10 — the thief and abundant life
- Colossians 3:1–11 — set your mind on things above
- Daniel 11:32 — the people who know their God
- Matthew 16:24–27 — deny yourself
- Hebrews 11:6 — a rewarder of those who seek Him
- Isaiah 43:18 — do not remember the former things
- Psalm 86:11 and Psalm 25:4–7 — teach me Your ways
- 1 Corinthians 11:23–25 — the Lord’s Supper
How this summary was made: written with AI assistance from the sermon’s own transcript and checked against the Scriptures listed above.
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